Maskwachees developing the human resources of Hobbema's four bands

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Maskwachees Cultural College is a tool to help Native people from the four bands at Hobbema handle their own affairs more efficiently. The students are the future resources for Ermineskin, Louis Bull, Montana and Samson bands.

So the students are developed into highly efficient thinking and studying machines, said director Fred Carnew. The failure rate is almost "nil", a miraculous number compared to the Canadian average of 30 per cent, he said.

College staff genuinely care for the students, which is the difference between Maskwachees and other post-secondary institutions, he said.

When students come to the college for the first time, "they're kind of scared" and many have problems that affect their academic performance, Carnew said. But when they leave they're "very vibrant, alive and strong. They're basically flying."

Learning is an important process, which can be disrupted by personal problems, so the college does its best to help students solve troubles. A psychologist and a therapist are on campus to offer counseling services.

Staff members are also available to the students, who are encouraged to take courses to develop their coping skills and the way they think, so they learn "abstract concepts" more efficiently.

Helping the students become more aware of their identity as Plains' Cree Indians, also helps them build self-confidence, said cultural studies' dean Walter Lightning.

"The more culturally-related a program, the more applications it gets," he explained. Students want to know their roots and the traditions, rituals and history of the Plains' Cree. Many are shocked at what they learn, particularly of Indian people' dealing with government, but others are shocked at traditions they were unaware of before.

So the students learn how to deal with their personal problems and explore their identity; when they leave they are independent individuals, who no longer have low self-esteem or lack confidence, Carnew declared.

Maskwachees also hosts feast and powwows, following its "open door policy", which has far-reaching impacts. For example, since the technical and cultural services are available to the community many people want words translated into Cree syllabics.

Cree syllabic symbols have been emerging in business signs and school banners, said Lightning.

The college also offers cross-cultural awareness workshops, which have been used by the RCMP as well as area businesses and schools.

The number of students at Maskwachees ranges from 300 to 425 depending on the season.

The college is privately-run and owned by Hobbema's four bands through a board of governors under legislation passed by the province in 1988. This gives the college control of its operation, but prevents it from getting government funding.

"Finances are always a problem," Carnew noted. Unsuccessful attempts have been made to get funds from the department of Indian affairs and other agencies. Just recently the college hired a full-time fund-raiser.

Maskwachees is housed in a 22-year-old building. College officials are planning to build a bigger and better building.

The college used to be a cultural center before it offered Cree language and history courses in 1986 under the cultural centers' program funded by Indian affairs.

Now Maskwachees offers second-year university courses, academic upgrading and a Cree language instruction program. It also has a secretarial/receptionist program. Soon a four-month long ambulance attendant training program will be offered in conjunction with the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College in Saskatoon.

The university programs are creditable courses, not "watered down," stresses Lightning. Students, who finish two years there, move on to the University of Calgary, with which it is affiliated, or to other post-secondary institutions.

The long-range objective of the college is to become a "respectable" university, where people can acquire degrees, Carnew said. With a failure rate at almost nil ad the high quality graduates it's producing, it is sure to reach that objective.